Brandon Meriweather Suspended Two Games
The NFL announced the suspension of Washington Redskins Safety Brandon Meriweather for the first two games of the regular season for a helmet to helmet hit last Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
Meriweather was flagged for a personal foul against Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith during the second quarter of a 23-17 loss.
This marks Meriweather’s sixth violation of the NFL’s unnecessary roughness rules relating to hits to defenseless players and impermissible use of the helmet.
Last season Meriweather was fined $42,000 for an illegal hit to a defenseless player on Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy. Later in the season, Meriweather was suspended two games for an illegal hit on Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall. That suspension was reduced to one game after appeal.
Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden said this afternoon that he watched film on Brandon Meriweather’s flagged hit: “I think he tried his best to lower his target.”
Gruden said he watched film on Brandon Meriweather’s flagged hit: “I think he tried his best to lower his target.”
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) August 25, 2014
Meriweather will be able to practice with the Redskins and play in the team’s final preseason game this Thursday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If he chooses, Merriweather has three days to appeal the suspension to the league. If the suspension is upheld, he will be barred from the Redskins’ facilities from September 1 to September 15. The Redskins open the regular season in Houston against the Texans and then host the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 2.
